“Still overly dramatic.” A half-dazed grin paraded across his face.
I leaned against the side of the mattress.
His focus flitted from his left leg propped up in a cast back to me. “How would you feel about being rolled down the aisle?”
I shook my head at him. “How about you just concentrate on healing, okay?”
His laugh turned into a wheeze as if it hurt to move. “You worry like Mom.”
“And you don’t worry enough.” I sat back, arms crossed. “What were you thinking, Austin?”
“Hey, it’s not like I instructed that sheet of ice to position itself in the middle of my ski jump.”
“Well, you should do things that are less dangerous.”
Austin laughed again, this time bracing the movement with his arm. “Now, where would the fun be in that?”
What was I going to do with him? I stared at the tiles. “If something had happened to you . . .” I couldn’t lose him after losing Dad. He wasn’t only family. He was one of my best friends.
“I’m fine.” Wincing, he scooted his upper body a little higher on the pillows behind his back. “Come here.”
I curled up against his side the way we used to do as kids and tried not to put too much weight on him. He rested his head against the top of mine. “Merry Christmas, Emma.”
I shot a glance at the clock, the time finally registering. Somewhere in the chaos, the night had stretched into the wee hours of Christmas morning.
“Merry Christmas,” I whispered back.
Austin’s breathing deepened into an unconscious rhythm. I scooched off the bed as gingerly as possible and peered out the window toward the other person in my life who meant the world to me.
Before the door had fully closed behind me, Riley had me enveloped in his arms.
I set my chin on his chest and looked up into his fiercely compassionate eyes. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so—”
“No apologies necessary.”
But the exhaustion on his face pummeled a wave of guilt through me. He hadn’t even had a chance to rest yet.
Anna’s sneakers squeaked over the floor as she reached for the door handle. “May I?”
“Of course.” I stepped aside.
Inside, she moved the chair a little closer to the bed and sat on the very edge of the cushion with her elbows pressed against the mattress. She cast a glance over Austin, surveying the condition of his tethered body, and gently slipped her hand under his.
No wonder Mom had thought to call her. That reminded me. “Mom?” I spun to face her. “Where’s Hailey? Wasn’t she on the trip with Austin?”
“According to Mike, she’s still there on the mountain.”
I blinked. Twice. How could his girlfriend not have come with him to the hospital?
Mom shrugged. “Guess they still had a couple more days left on the timeshare.”
Was that supposed to be a suitable answer? Not that it mattered. No explanation would’ve reversed the permanent damage to my estimation of Hailey’s commitment to my brother.
Mom didn’t bother pressing the issue. She set her cold hands over Riley’s and my forearm. “Why don’t you two go home? Get some sleep.” She looked back through the window. “I think Austin’s well taken care of for the evening.”
Riley about tripped over his feet as he turned. I caught his elbow. “I’ll drive.”
Back home, Riley trailed me down the hall. The empty house amplified each creak in the oak floorboards. I flicked on the light switch. Unlike Riley’s old room-turned-storage-locker, mine looked pretty barren with most of my things away at school.
That sassy smile of his crawled up his cheek. “No baby pictures?”
“You must’ve missed the hallway walls.”
I beat him to the door and stretched my arms across the jamb.
“Can’t keep me locked in here forever.”
“I can try.” I backed him away from the door.
He followed my gaze to the twin bed lining the far wall and shook his head. “Not happening.”
I crisscrossed my arms. “Don’t try to tell me you’re not exhausted. You need to sleep.”
“Yeah, on the couch,” he insisted.
“Fine, but stay with me for a little while. Please?”
His eyes spoke his usual response before any words. “Just until you fall asleep.”
His expression softened the moment he lay beside me.
I snuggled into his warmth, nestled my head under the overgrown stubble on his cheek, and soaked in his faded Nautica scent. “Thanks,” I whispered. “For getting me home safely, for being here with me.”
He settled a hand over mine on his chest. “Guess we both needed each other this break.”
I smiled against his thermal shirt.
As his breathing slowed, the cares of the last week gradually drained until the only thing left was the sweet reminder of how lucky I was to have him in my life.
With extra caution, I rolled toward the outside edge of the mattress and eased off as soundlessly as possible. He’d be upset with me in the morning for coercing him into sleeping in my bed instead of on the couch, but there really wasn’t another option. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he deserved a good night’s sleep.
I paused in front of the kitchen and waited for any signs of stirring from the bedroom. Nothing. All that practice maneuvering down the creaky hallway without waking Mom must’ve paid off. I crossed the linoleum into Dad’s study and curled up in his desk chair.
The room looked no different from when I was home a year ago. I probably didn’t either. Truth was, unanswered questions would always be a part of me. I had no idea how Riley’s contract would play out or what it’d mean for us. No clue how to save the center. I could barely think about making it to graduation, let alone what lay past it. But at least I finally understood I wasn’t in this alone.
Dad smiled at me from the Polaroid on this desk. Keep playing for me, Dad. For a little longer. I didn’t need a bed or even a couch when blanketed in the closest thing to his embrace. I stretched out on the carpet under the skylight, watched the stars the way we used to do together, and listened to the memory of the song he’d always played for me. That song would be enough to guide my life no matter where it led next. Wouldn’t it?
chapter thirteen
Tousled
After a few days of random naps on uncomfortable pieces of hospital furniture, we finally got to spend some time at home with Mom and Austin.
I straddled the doorway between the kitchen and living room. “Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle things, Mom? This is like ten times worse than a man-cold,” I called down the hall while eyeing Austin on the couch.
He slid a throw pillow out from behind his back and tossed it at me. “Hey, have you heard me whine once?”
I sat on the sliver of cushion left open beside him and stacked the pillow onto the one already propping up his calf. He tried to pass off a moan for a cough. Nice try. “Mm hmm. Just don’t go getting all soft on me. I don’t want to hear about you asking Mom to set a bell next to your nightstand or anything.”
He rolled his eyes. “I do have crutches, you know.”
Along with a broken leg and fractured ribs.
I looked him up and down. Thank God, his injuries hadn’t been worse. “By the way, just so we’re clear. You better never do that to me again. Ever.”
He returned my grin from a minute ago.
I threatened to jostle his ribcage. “Promise me, Aust.”
“Okay, okay.” He held my hands down by my wrists. “As long as you promise I still get to walk you down the aisle.” He pointed at his cast. “Walk being the operative word, here.”
Honestly, I would’ve let him roll me down in a wheelchair if he had to, but I knew he’d want to stand by my side as Dad would’ve. “I promise.” The ache of knowing Dad would miss both our wedding days pressed in again. That reminded me. “Hey, what’s up with Hailey staying on the mount
ain instead of going to the hospital with you?”
Austin picked at the frayed stitching on the twenty-year-old couch. “Guess you’ll have to ask her.”
I’d like to ask her a few things, all right. “Maybe we should send Anna in instead. I bet she’d show her a few ice patches on the slopes.”
The slightest tinge of pink dusted his cheeks. “Friends, Em. Anna and I are friends.”
“Mm hmm.”
He shoved me off the cushion.
On my way up, I bumped into my backpack on the floor. The tip of the folder with Dee’s drawings in it poked through the opening. I’d completely forgotten about them. “Hey, I meant to ask you. Do you think you can help me get some of this artwork printed and see if we can sell any?” I handed him the copies I’d made of Dee’s sketches.
“You have a hidden talent you forgot to mention to me?”
His snowboarding accident obviously hadn’t knocked the sarcasm out of him.
“They’re Dee’s—the kid I told you about from the center. It’s something I need to do for him, and I was hoping between your connections at work and USC, you might know someone I could work with on it.”
He thumbed through the pages. “This is really important to you?”
More than I fully understood. I sat beside him again and toyed with my hoodie’s drawstrings. “Guess it doesn’t really make sense, but I feel like his art is tied to the center somehow. Like an extension of it or something. And getting it out there is a way to keep the center going.” I dropped the strings. “That sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”
Sometimes Austin’s smile matched Dad’s so much I would’ve sworn it was his instead. “I’ll make a few calls,” he said. “We’ll see it through.”
“Thanks.” I hugged him delicately and sat back. “You wouldn’t happen to know any gracious benefactors too, would you?”
“Still no luck on getting a grant?”
I’d stopped looking when we were so close to getting that one from the Success Foundation last term. And now, it was too late to start over. I let out a sigh. “One person. If we found just one key person to rally behind us, we’d be set.” I rose and straightened out my jeans. “Why is that so hard?”
Austin shrugged. “Maybe the timing’s off.”
“Yeah, well, time better hurry up and get itself together because it’s about to run out.”
Riley’s cell phone rang from across the room. His silhouette faded from the doorway into the kitchen as he took the call.
I shook a finger at Austin. “Stay put for a sec, will ya?”
“Very funny.”
Laughing, I skidded into the kitchen. Riley had his back toward me, looking out the sliding door leading to the deck. He held his cell to his ear with the arm he had propped against the trim.
Even from this distance, I could hear Jasmine’s level of enthusiasm leaving Riley’s in the dust. I ducked under his arm and tried to steal the phone.
“Hang on, Jazz,” he said. “Someone here wants to talk to you.”
She must’ve squeaked in a breath during the five seconds it took for Riley to transfer the phone from his ear to mine. As soon as I said hello, a steady stream of ten-year-old musings gushed out. I caught the words “wedding” and “flower girl” right before Mr. Preston huffed something in the background.
“Stop it, Dad,” she yelled away from the receiver. “They have every right to get married . . . No, I’m talking to them . . .”
Mr. Preston got on the line. The same unease we’d experienced at their house slithered across my neck and shoulders again. It took Riley one blink to assess the look on my face and take the phone back.
I didn’t hear what his dad said to him. I didn’t have to. A hardened shell crept down Riley’s body and stretched into his voice. “It’s not up to you.”
He hung up and jammed his phone into his pocket. A moment passed with nothing more than our breathing. He touched his lips to my forehead and left the room without saying anything at all. The front door opened and closed. Even though we were all set to leave, Riley obviously needed another minute without my following him.
Back in the living room, Austin met my anxious eyes but didn’t comment.
Mom ambled down the hallway and stopped long enough to notice Riley had gone outside. “Is it that time already?” She hurried into the kitchen and came back with a mini cooler in one hand and two water bottles in the other. “I’ll meet you out front, sweetie.” She kissed my cheek on her way through the door.
I threw on a beanie, swiped my backpack from the floor, and shuffled over to Austin. Saying goodbye never got any easier.
He inched up into a sitting position while trying not to move his leg. The second I sat down, he squished me into a hug. “Love ya, Em. Stay out of trouble.”
“Look who’s talking.” I leaned back and slid him one more smile. “See ya later . . . Softie.” I leaped from the cushion before he could swat me with his pillow again.
“You wait till I’m back on my feet,” he said as I scurried out the door.
Riley stood at the car, Mom by his side, and sorted through his keys. “Ready?”
Sort of.
Mom bundled me in a hug. “Take care of yourself.”
“I will. Love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.” She held on to my shoulders and looked at me with all the poise and confidence the moment allowed. “You have a wonderful semester, okay? Don’t lose sight of that beautiful, strong, loving, young woman I know you are.” She traced my necklace, lifted both her hands to my cheeks, and smiled.
In the car, I waved goodbye as we backed out of the driveway. She stayed on the stoop, rubbing her arms. I didn’t look away from the side mirror until her reflection trailed out of sight.
“You know,” I said. “I could kill Austin for making me worry like that, but I’m sorta glad it worked out for us to spend a few days here.”
“Me too.”
After that phone call with Mr. Preston, he probably wished we’d come straight to my house to begin with.
I angled toward him. Whether he wanted to admit it, it hurt him to be at odds with his dad. I saw it on his face. Did he hold any hope of things changing? I twisted my hoodie’s drawstrings in a spiral again and tried to unwind my voice. “It’d be nice if your dad could be a part of the wedding.”
Riley’s foot slipped off the gas pedal. “Are you serious?”
“I was thinking . . .”
He wrenched the gearshift into third. “Don’t waste your time.”
His words slammed into my gut. I hugged my arms over my torso.
“I’m sorry.” He reached across the seat for my hand. “I just don’t want to see you be disappointed.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to see you disappointed either.” I stared at the pavement streaming by outside my window. “I already have to go through my wedding day without my dad. I don’t want you to have to go through that too.”
Hot tears fought through my barriers, but I ran my sleeve under my eyes before he saw. It wasn’t a guilt trip. I only wanted him to understand.
A solid minute lapsed before he moved. He lifted the backs of my fingers to his lips. In classic Riley-style, he would let what I said digest before responding.
The first of countless exit signs passed above the car. With the long drive ahead of us, he’d have plenty of time to his thoughts. I hunched into the door panel, trapped in my own. Maybe there were too many things unsettled for us even to be thinking about wedding plans. I’d been the one lobbying not to put it off, but now I was scared we were rushing.
Glimpses of the skyline sifted through the treetops along the highway. Please show me what to do.
The weight of it all drove me deeper into the seat and closer to sleep. No sunglasses needed this time. With any luck, a nap would evoke some measure of clarity.
Something brushed against my arm. I peeled my cheek off my seatbelt and rubbed out the indent lining my jawbone. My lashes agreed to
stay open on the third try when my apartment building fluttered into view. I’d slept the whole way?
I darted up in my seat. My beanie sloped over my forehead and fell onto my lap, dragging sections of hair across my face with enough static electricity to power the car. Nice. Too bad the curtain of stringy hair couldn’t have blocked my view of Riley’s grin.
At least I didn’t leave a puddle of drool on my shirt or something. Did I? Glancing down to check, I laughed. “Nothing like seeing your fiancée when she first wakes up to make sure you know full well what you’re getting into.”
If the entire trip hadn’t already counted as some sort of premarital counseling session, these kinds of unguarded moments had to have at least gained us some bonus points.
Riley’s laugh followed mine. “If that tousled look is supposed to scare me away, then we might have a problem.”
I tucked my beanie back on. Not that it helped tame the static electricity or Riley’s amusement. I unbuckled my seatbelt and resituated my twisted sweatshirt. Thankfully, a shower was only a few steps away.
He yawned. Poor thing. He had to be exhausted.
“I’m sorry you had to drive the whole way.”
“You needed to rest. I’m not the one who has a new semester ahead of her.”
I reached into the backseat for my bag. “Ugh. Don’t remind me.” School was the last thing I wanted to think about. At least I had another week to recoup first. “Well, if I have to prep for a new term, then you have to go get some sleep.” Probably days of it.
He angled his head and squinted. “Deal.”
Sometimes that smile made everything else in life feel miles away.
His expression sobered as he glided his thumb over my cheek and wove his fingers into my hair, his eyes rendering words unnecessary.
I rested my hand over his. “I love you too.”
Above anything else, that one truth would always remain.
“Em, about the center. Things are gonna work out.”
Hope Unbroken (Unveiled Series Book 3) Page 8